You can take that wire out of it and replace it. (The charge wire) it goes to the charge coil. You can try that because at this point it isn't going to matter if you mess it up. You really can't mess it up if your careful. Then check and see how many ohms that it is reading. LoOKs like you have two breaks in it from your picture . One where it bends and goes in by the plug wires. And one a little further up. Just follow it to the charge coil on the stator and see where you want to remove it at. Those wires seem to always be broke or have a bare spot. The wire looks pretty corrected where you were metering it at the break. It may not have had good contact for the meter lead.

There are 2 breaks in the coating. one at the base and another farther up. I agree with the wire looking very corroded at the lower break.

I chased the wire around to the back side of the 2 coils that supply a charge signal to the solid state and i have conductivity from the plug to that point. (Will post pics and more details later today).

You have to have a solid reading or it will never fire. You need to fix that wire. Should be around 137 ohms. When you get it fixed. And no your not a dummy . You were testing it right. Did you get another stator with your parts engine? If so you could check it and fix the better one it maybe cracked too but not as bad and keep the other for a spare

That parts machine was my first go to after i had no spark today. The stator on it will need cleaned up very well. But i tested it for a resistance reading from the charge lead to ground at the body of the stator like i have been and got no reading. but again, it was very dirty. ill take it off tomorrow and see what i can do with the 2 of them.

I sat down tonight and did a few checks on the stator from my tractor. Here are the results:

I still cannot get an ohm reading from the charge wire to the stator body, no matter what i do. I have good conductivity from the charge wire plug to the break in the coating where it meets the stator body;

I also get good conductivity from the charge wire to the 2 coils for it. So, even though the coating is broken on the wire, it is still good.

I also get good conductivity from the charge wire to the kill wire plug. (picture upside down. reads 40ohms)

I assume the break or broken part of this stator has to be the connection between the 2 solid state charge coils and the ground to the stator housing? Any idea where it is on the housing? Does anyone have a wiring diagram for these stators so i can possibly try to repair this one later on?

Anyway, i took the stator off my parts machine and cleaned up some spots to test it well. I got a good ohm reading off of it. The reading way a bit low and wiggling of the charge wire changed it, but i left the voltmeter hooked to it for a while (5-8 minutes) and got the reading climbed. Here are the results:

I unhooked the voltmeter and hooked it back up and got this reading:

Then it dropped after being hooked up for 2-3 minutes:

Im going to call this stator good. The charge wire to the solid state had no breaks in it as well, which is a surprise. I will install this stator tomorrow and hopefully get some good results.

If you are wiggling the wire and the reading is changing it need to be looked at for a break in the wire or a crack in the jacket. Look right where it goes into the little clamp and where it goes around the solid state about 2 inches up from the clamp. You can cut the wire at the break if you find one and solder a new piece on. The put heat shrink over it. You did get a good ohm reading so that stator is good for sure . Just check that wire and add a new piece if you have too and you will be good to go.

I forgot to mention if you fix the wire. Take some rtv and squeeze it into the part where that clamp is at where the wires go into the stator. Smooth it out nice with your fingers up past the clamp. 2 reasons for this. 1. The rtv gives it some cushion around the clamp to not wear. And 2. If and oil runs down that oh180. Always seems to go right to that spot. Then it lays in between those wires and makes the jacket brittle and the crack the silicone keeps it out. You only need a little bit. I have had good luck with this. As far as your other stator it that lead wire goes to the charge coil you need to follow it and find a spot where you are comfortable soldering a new piece on to fix that one also . But worry about the one you want to use for now. You have to open that clamp up on the spare you want to fix so you can pull the wires up and see where they go. I'm happy that you know the one is good for sure. Wasn't too bad to trouble shoot was it you just have to follow the steps. Soon you will be very knowledgeable on them also. Like what Tahoe said applies to me also. I learned about them because I had too! It really wasn't my choice.

If you are wiggling the wire and the reading is changing it need to be looked at for a break in the wire or a crack in the jacket. Look right where it goes into the little clamp and where it goes around the solid state about 2 inches up from the clamp. You can cut the wire at the break if you find one and solder a new piece on. The put heat shrink over it. You did get a good ohm reading so that stator is good for sure . Just check that wire and add a new piece if you have too and you will be good to go.

Wiggling the wire didnt change the reading. I checked this first. The charge wire on the stator from the parts machine was actually in great shape. No cracks or wore spots. It was even still soft and bends easily. I Plan to pull the bad stator apart soon and see if i can find where it failed and see if i can fix it. Sure would save a lot of money.

I forgot to mention if you fix the wire. Take some rtv and squeeze it into the part where that clamp is at where the wires go into the stator. Smooth it out nice with your fingers up past the clamp. 2 reasons for this. 1. The rtv gives it some cushion around the clamp to not wear. And 2. If and oil runs down that oh180. Always seems to go right to that spot. Then it lays in between those wires and makes the jacket brittle and the crack the silicone keeps it out. You only need a little bit. I have had good luck with this. As far as your other stator it that lead wire goes to the charge coil you need to follow it and find a spot where you are comfortable soldering a new piece on to fix that one also . But worry about the one you want to use for now. You have to open that clamp up on the spare you want to fix so you can pull the wires up and see where they go. I'm happy that you know the one is good for sure. Wasn't too bad to trouble shoot was it you just have to follow the steps. Soon you will be very knowledgeable on them also. Like what Tahoe said applies to me also. I learned about them because I had too! It really wasn't my choice.

I did have to silicone a few places on some of the coils on the stator where its coating got cracked when i had to pry it off the other engine. So while i was at it i took your advice and added silicone to the base of the charge wire.

Happy about the engine, sorry about the grill.
It's a fate that has happened to many.i think I'm planning on taking my worst one and just making it wood.

Mine was perfect. but i unhooked the cable that stops it from falling forward to give me a little more room while working on the ignition. When i park the tractor i usually leave the bucket about 8" off the ground in case i need to push it for some reason. With that cable unhooked to allowed the hood to lay on the cross support of the loader. . . over the course of the last 3-4 days someone had played with the loader controls and dropped the bucket to the ground. . . . well when they did that it busted the fiberglass grill.

I have another from my parts machine, but i havent looked at it to see if theyre exactly the same (cant remember if the part machine was a gt16 or an ss16) if theyre the same ill just swap then over. If not, ill pull the GT-18 grill out and rework it with some fiberglass and resin.

I got a phonecall a few hours ago from a guy that was interested in purchasing the machine. I gave him an absolutely ridiculous price on it and the parts machine and he was still rather interested. . . Selling the ol girl kinda tugs on my feelers a bit, but at the same time, if hes willing to pay the amount i told him, i absolutely wont tell him no. We will see.

Mine was perfect. but i unhooked the cable that stops it from falling forward to give me a little more room while working on the ignition. When i park the tractor i usually leave the bucket about 8" off the ground in case i need to push it for some reason. With that cable unhooked to allowed the hood to lay on the cross support of the loader. . . over the course of the last 3-4 days someone had played with the loader controls and dropped the bucket to the ground. . . . well when they did that it busted the fiberglass grill.

I have another from my parts machine, but i havent looked at it to see if theyre exactly the same (cant remember if the part machine was a gt16 or an ss16) if theyre the same ill just swap then over. If not, ill pull the GT-18 grill out and rework it with some fiberglass and resin.

I got a phonecall a few hours ago from a guy that was interested in purchasing the machine. I gave him an absolutely ridiculous price on it and the parts machine and he was still rather interested. . . Selling the ol girl kinda tugs on my feelers a bit, but at the same time, if hes willing to pay the amount i told him, i absolutely wont tell him no. We will see.

glad you got it running, I knew you would. If you ever have problems with the cracked coating on those coil windings , try using nail polish or that clear poly urathane for wood . It works really good. If you ever have another one you will know what to do now with the stator.

Sorry about the grill, I did the exact same thing on a nose that my auto body buddy repaired for me, it was all nice and pretty in primer ready for me to paint. I had removed the limit cable then I flipped open the hood and cracked his work. Then a few weeks later I caught a low lying tree limb and it blew it all apart.

I got a phonecall a few hours ago from a guy that was interested in purchasing the machine. I gave him an absolutely ridiculous price on it and the parts machine and he was still rather interested. . . Selling the ol girl kinda tugs on my feelers a bit, but at the same time, if hes willing to pay the amount i told him, i absolutely wont tell him no. We will see.

You also want to add in the cost of a new pair of shoes. You'll wear out at least one pair kicking yourself.

glad you got it running, I knew you would. If you ever have problems with the cracked coating on those coil windings , try using nail polish or that clear poly urathane for wood . It works really good. If you ever have another one you will know what to do now with the stator.

Ill keep that in mind when i dig into my "junk" stator to try to fix it. I now know not to pass up any ohv tecumseh engines i see in the junk yard. I will at least pull the solid state and the stators off of them as well as flywheels if theyre good.

Glad to hear you got it running.

Sorry about the grill, I did the exact same thing on a nose that my auto body buddy repaired for me, it was all nice and pretty in primer ready for me to paint. I had removed the limit cable then I flipped open the hood and cracked his work. Then a few weeks later I caught a low lying tree limb and it blew it all apart.

I didnt realize mine was broken until i shut the hood yesterday and i instantly went into a rage. Things happen though.

You also want to add in the cost of a new pair of shoes. You'll wear out at least one pair kicking yourself.

I know i would have kicked myself after it was gone, but he never showed. This machine is on the market, but at a very high and ridiculous price. I honestly need a larger machine for my needs and as awesome as this sears is, its just not enough.